Car door construction



J. CHRIS-HANSEN CAR DOOR CONSTRUCTION March gs, 1946.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 26, 1941 March 26, 1946. J, cHmsTlANsl-:N l 2,397,335

`CR DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 26, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheetl 2 f l l w BY l 12a@ ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 26, 1946 UNT-T ED;..f- STT PAT Burr-f.; ofFFicE-i;

This invention relates" to car'door7 constructions in general and-in particular tosuch cardoorcone' 9 Claims.

struction'sfor railway box-carsor house'carsz' In 'railway car construction extreme difficultyy has :been `encountered'in attempting to sealthe structure. and springing of the car frame structure when'the There is always' 'considerable l'Weaving car isL loaded and traveling'at high 'speedswhich weaving and 'springing'-willstrain the'door if it' is tightly and". rigidly locked to the '.car' structure. A

The springing and vweaving of the'car structurel` also ytends to open 4the "jointsi and; 'if the 'car is traveling' at highs'peedinto awind; velocities in excess Vof 100' milesperhourfmay be encountered.'

tendingto 'drive 'sparks,"cinder`s,"snow or rain' into'thecar interior. Variousiattemptsjto seal the"joint'between the""doo'r andcarihave been made using labyrinth lt'ypeiof seal byestablish'ing..

various'` eddy pockets;v but allV o'f theseV attempts rely on success lfor simultaneous contact between the rigiddoor and'rigidframe members at a plu- 1 rality `of points. The vsimultaneous contact of rigidmembers at a plurality of points' is impossible to obtainin ordinary railway car construe-.

tion.' ..Furthermore, even if it is obtained when the` ear is new the-relation" is soonilostdueto battering of the door edgeduring' openingand closing or 4due to vweavingy of the'cargstructurer, It is an "object, therefore, of thepresentinven-A tion to provide a doo'rconstructionin whichde- A formation of the..edge'.bypry. bars,..sledges,.etc., does not 4 aiTect. the Hsealing .of thedoonand. door:

post.

A further object of theinV'entior-Lis thefpro.-

visionof a railway car door construction .inwhichns the-door is entirely free `of racking strainsthat...

might. be imposed upon vit by the car malls." 3-

A still .further object of the invention. is the proy vision of a car doo'i` construction havingfresilie'nt...

strips forming the`sole area of contact. betweenv thedoor and the vdoor posts to at all times pre-AA` serve the seal at the joint-.while permitting freedom of movement betweenthe door .andJd'oon posts when the door-is in closed positioii. A. i

These and other objects. of tle'invention..will

be apparent to persons skilled in the vart from a study of the .following .descriptionl'and .accompanying drawings, in whichn Y Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional viewtaken through the'improved door anddoor frame con-f...

struction;

Fig2 is a Vertical sectionalviewr .takenthrught .Y

the v`improved door construction substantiallyI onv line 2.-2 of Fig'l;

FigSfis asectional viewshowing aslightmodn cation of the sealing means used at the Vuppe edgeo'f the'door" f' A Figiiy is a longitudinal'sectional 'View similar butshowing a' slight modification,` and Figi 5' isiasectional .vieW' showing a 'slight' modi# cationfo thesea'ling *.rneansA at the rear e'dge' of Referringnow toA thedrawings in detail, it will be seenthat"the^door posts aresubstantially of chann'erfor'mation having' 'webs "2; inner angesf 4 and"outer^i'lar`iges5; which anges are spaced outwardly'of thecariside walls 6.' 'These car side l l walls'areconnectedt'to thedoor postsfby means of angle'me'mberstforming'part vof'tliecar structure. As shown in Figi 1, the door post adjacent the" rearifedge 'of the "door .has 'theouter flange bentback upon'itselfv to providean inclined por-j tion'v lil 'which is an integralv partei and is to be considered' as part' of the 'ilange 5. Thisl bending f of theiiange to produce the portionlll) is done in order to provide the inclined-surface l2. iThe. n

bending may be accomplished by usinga relative'- ly small radius, as shown in Fig.'"1, or it may be accomplished by fan extremely 'sharp bend, as

shownfin Fig.5. 'In some materials, Vparticularly thehig'hgt'ensile `steels,.fit is impossible to make the sharp. bend shown in Figs`.,.1 and. 5 andV in these..cascsitheinclind.surfaceI2 may be obtained..4 by l spotswelding ,..or otherwise4 attaching a beveled strip I4 to theouterlflangefof the door` post, 'as shown. in Fig..4.. yHer'e againthis' attachedA strip. becomes; an integral. partof andds to be considered the "sameias thelflange. 5.

The'fronhedge-of theidoor .(later to be described). .is protected bya. Z.shaped post element I8 fastened to theY car sidewall in spaced relation to tlfiejdoor` posi-and .having-.its outer-flange locatedloutwardly of the .flange 'of' the iront door.- post,.thus.providing.apocket to receive the-nose or frontend Vof the doorw As clearly Vshown in Fig. 2, .the car construction includes anysuitable i form of side sills {22,.iioorf24 and threshold plate Y 26. It also lincludeslaV side .plate- 28 formed Yin part .of acurved sheet 30.. l"Ihekupperedge of the door is protected, as shown `in Fig. 2, by anan-v gularl memberSZ fastenedlto the Vside plate struc-v ture .and Ahaving thelhorizontall leg 4bent 4downwardly'and.inwardlyas at 34 lto provide a protection andhousing for the ,upper angle member;- of the .rdoorwAs shownin Fig. 3, this angular..l

housingsmemberhas .attached theretofan angle sha.ped.plalt`e"-,y 36 Shaving. its .outer .surface sub- A stantiallyin theplaneof theoutersurfacelof the dooriposts anduaccordinglydening the upper entrance of moisture or foreign material.

edge of the door opening. In Fig. 3 vthis angular plate is modified slightly by having the outer edge thereof turned downwardly as at 38 to pre-` antifriction device 50 supporting the door upon the track rails 52 carried by the side sills, The top rail, as shown in Fig. 2, has attached thereto a fiat plate 54 adapted to cooperate with the angle plate 36 to prevententrance of moisture at the upper edge of the door. If rdesired a channel shaped pressing 56 may be attached to this top rail instead of the flat bar end as clearly shown in Fig. 3. f

In order to seal the joint at the front edge of the door a spring steel strip 60 (Fig. 1) is .secured to the front door post inwardly of the flange j and shaped to bend outwardly around and clear of the flange and terminate in a stiifening U- shaped end 62 providing a at surface 64 adapted Y to cooperate with or wipe across and bear upon the front stile 40 of the door. It will be seen that this resilient strip 60 is constantly urged toward the door in its closed position and will hold such door free of rigid contact with the door post flange,y thus preventing the racking strains being transmitteddirectly from the door frame to the door. In some cases it may be more desirable to keep the resilient or spring steel strips on the door. In this case a resilient or spring steel stripr 'I0 (Fig.4) is attached to the leading edge of the door front stile. 40. As clearly shown, this resilient strip is bent inwardly in spaced relation to the door stile to present a flat surface 12 adapted to contact the flange 5 of the forward door post. Support and protection is obtained for this resilient strip by bending the same toward the door stile as at 14, then along the stile as at. 'I5 to be capped by`a member 16' welded or otherwise attached to the stile but free of attachment to the resilient strip. In this Way the resilient strip 'l0 may ex since it is attached to theV door stile only at the leading edge thereof. This resilient strip will, like that shown in Fig. 1, wipe across the door frame and prevent rigid contact between the door and door framerand will resiliently seal and resist transmission ofj racking strains from the car structure to the door.

The rear edge of the door is preferably sealed by means of a resilient strip 80 having a straight portion attached to the rear edge of the rear door stilev and an inclined portion 82 providing a at surface 84 adapted to engage and contact the flat surface l2 of the rear post flange, The inclined portion isextended inwardly and terminates in a rolled portion 86 adapted to give added strength to the resilient strip and to contact either the web of the rear post or the side o f the car or both. This resilient strip may be formed of any material but as indicated is formed of spring steel and will effectively seal the joint between the door stile and theV door post. It will also permit relative movement between the closed door and the door post While preventing the resilient strip 80 might'be injured by prybars,

Since 1 against injury. course, greatly stiffen the rear door stile and increase the stiffness of the resilient sealing strip. The inturned flange 92 will, of course, also prevent excessive springing of the strip and outward removal of the door in case the car is subjected to excess shocks, such as in wrecks, etc.

Regardless of the exact form of the resilient sealing strip or its location, it will in all cases seal the joint between the door and door posts and will permit relative movement between the posts and closed doors to prevent transmission of racking strains from the car structure to the door, The resilient strips have been shown as made of springsteel since this material will have the greatest life, retain its resiliency longer and resist the-abrasive action arising due to the movement between the door and car structure, but it is, of course, obvious that these strips may be made'of other material than spring steel.

While the invention has been described more or less in detail, it will be obvious that various modications other than those shown and described may be made and all such modifications are contemplated as will fall within the scope of the appended claims defining my invention.

What is claimed is:

l.` In a door construction for railway cars, the combination of spaced door posts secured to the car and having rigid flanges at their outer portions, a door carried by the car and providedr with rigid stiles, resilient sealing means secured to the outer'edges of said stiles and bent to overlie the inner faces thereof in spaced relation thereto in orderrto bear upon said doorpost anges when the door is in yclosed position, said resilient sealing means providing the sole areas of contact between the door and door post flanges.

Y2. In a door construction for railway cars, the combination ofspaced door posts secured to the car and formed with rigid flanges at their outer portions located in outwardly spaced relation to the car `side walls, a door carried by the car and provided with rigid stiles adjacent its side edges, spring steel strips secured to the outer edges of said door stiles and bent inwardly toward the center of the doorv to overlap the inner faces of the stiles in spaced relation thereto, said spring steel strips intermediate their edges engaging said door post flanges when the door is in closed position and providing the sole areas of Contact betweenV the Ydoor and door post flanges. V

3. In a door construction for railway cars, the combination of a door post secured to the car, a door carried by the car and provided with a rigid` front stile,fa spring steel strip of angular cross section having one edge fastened to the front a rigid ange, disposed in spaced relation-to the L car wall, a door carried by the car and provided with a rigid rear stile, resilient sealing means secured to the rear edge of said stile and being bent inwardly and forwardly to overlap said .rigid flange, said resilient sealing meansV contacting l flange and web at spaced points toseal the joint.k Y

between said door and post while permitting rela- This angular member will, of

tive movement between the door and post when the door is in closed position.

5. In a door construction for railway cars, the combination of spaced door posts each having a web and a rigid flange located in outwardly spaced relation to the car side wall, one of said posts having its ange provided with a rebent portion constituting a seat, a door carried by the car and provided with rigid stiles at its side edges, resilient sealing means secured to one of said stiles and adapted to bear against said seat and the web of said door` post when the door is in closed position, and resilient means sealing the joint between the other stile and the adjacent door post when the door is in closed position.

6. In a door construction for railway cars, the combination of spaced door posts, each having a web and a rigid flange located in outwardly spaced relation to the car side wall, one of said iianges having a rebent portion constituting a seat, a door carried by the car and provided with stiles at its side edges, and sealing means for sealing the joint between each stile and the ad jacent door post, at least one of said sealing means comprising a resilient member secured to a door stile and engaging the web of the adjacent door post and the rebent portion of said flange when the door is in closed position.

'7. In a door construction for railway cars, in combination, a front door post comprising a pair of closely arranged inner and outer front door post members, and a spaced door post, the pair of front door post members including spaced overlying flanges forming a pocket for the leading edge of the door and the other spaced post forming a stop for the trailing edge of a door, a resilient metallic strip having one fixed edge, and a free resilient offset portion interposed between the leading edge portion of the door and one wall of said pocket and normally urging the leading edge of the door against one face of said pocket when the door is in a closed position to form a seal therebetween, said leading door edge being further sealed by the resilient metallic strip spanning the space between the inner post member and the door, and a resilient metallic sealing strip of angular cross section between the trailing end of said door and other door post, said strip having one fixed edge portion and a free resilient body portion forming a pair of spaced sealing contacts between the door and post when the door is in closed position and normally resiliently urging said door toward said post.

8. A door construction for railway cars comprising, a door post secured to a car wall and formed with a rigid flange overlying said wall, said flange and wall forming a pocket having an intermediate portion and a pair of side walls, a door carried by the car and provided with a rigid stile, resilient metallic sealing means secured to the rear edge portion of said stile and overlapping f said nange when the door is in closed position,

said metallic sealing means including a body angular in cross section to provide a series of contacting sealing faces, one of the contacting faces normally'engaging said rigid ange when the door is in closed position to urge said door against said post, and at least one other face of said sealing means being adapted to engage the intermediate portion of said pocket regardless of relative motion between the door and the post when the door is in closed position.

9. In a door construction for the walls of railway cars, the combination of a door post secured to the car and formed with a web terminating in a rigid flange disposed in spaced relation to the car wall, a door carried by the car and provided with a rigid rear stile, resilient sealing means secured to the rear edge of said stile and being bent inwardly and forwardly to overlap said rigid iiange, said resilient sealing means contacting said ange and web at spaced points to seal the joint between said door and post While permitting relative movement between the door and post when the door is in closed position, and protecting means secured to said rear stile and overlapping at; least a portion of said resilient sealing means to protect the same against injury.

JOHN CHRISTIANSEN. 

